Fawn Smiley of Hidden Well Acupuncture Center holds one of the needles used to treat patients. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

John Carrington

An acupuncture needle inserted in the back of the hand is one of several used to treat patient Susan Isaacs during a recent visit to Hidden Well Acupuncture Center. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

His doctors have often prescribed high-powered medication. But as Amason's tolerance increased, so did the dosage and his concerns about addiction.

"I got banged up pretty good in Korea," Amason said. "But I don't want to be a junkie."

The 81-year-old Liberty County man says he's found a good alternative in acupuncture. Through his occasional treatments with Dr. Jiahua Tao, Amason finds pain and stress relief with relatively no side affects.

"Sometimes, he had as many as 30 needles in me, but I don't feel but one or two of them," Amason said. "He keeps the pain under control. It's a lot better than anything else I've tried."

The ancient Chinese tradition of acupuncture goes back about 5,000 years. But the practice only came to Savannah about two decades ago.

Local practitioner Fawn Smiley said she and Tao were among the first acupuncturists in the state and helped lobby for state licensure 10 years ago.

Tao claims to be the first local acupuncturist, according to his website and to Smiley, his former patient and student.

The former Shanghai neurosurgeon began practicing acupuncture locally in 1992, the same year he immigrated to the United States from Canada to work as a surgical assistant.

Tao would not comment for this story.

But Smiley said Tao's technique was much like what she experienced in her first treatment in 1995 while traveling in China.

Smiley was so impressed with Tao, she began studying to become a practitioner. She completed a degree at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco.

In 1999, she set up her own downtown practice, Hidden Well Acupuncture Center. With Tao, she and about 15 practitioners began lobbying for state licensure.

"It took us about three years to get the licensure passed," she said. "By then, both of us had really thriving practices."

Smiley has expanded her business to include nutritional counseling with Brighter Day Natural Foods co-owner Peter Brodhead, who is a certified nutritionist.

Smiley also offers treatment with herbal medicine and essential oils.

How it works

In recent years, acupuncture has found broader acceptance within the medical community.

In 1997, the National Institutes of Health released a statement saying studies of acupuncture offered promising results in treating such issues as postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in postoperative dental pain.

St. Joseph's/Candler now offers acupuncture, Tai Chi and massage therapy to the public through its Center for WellBeing.

In 2010, leaders of Armstrong Atlantic State University's school of nursing took 21 undergraduate and graduate level students to China to study Eastern medicine.

The group toured hospitals where they observed acupuncture, Tai Chi and "cupping," a tradition that involves placing heated suction cups over the skin.

Acupuncture works based on the theory in ancient Chinese medicine that the body is made up of an energy called "Qi" (chee) that has pathways or "meridians." That system can become imbalanced, which leads to disorders.

"A lot of illness arises from the way people deal with emotions," Smiley said. "A pain just means that energy is stuck."

Paul Buck believes there's something to it.

For weeks after open heart surgery in May 2010, the executive chef at Starfish Cafe felt that he had left his body.

"I would be sitting on my deck, but I was really sitting on my roof looking at myself sitting on my deck," he said. "I wasn't in my body at all. It was very strange."

After the first acupuncture treatment from Smiley, the 59-year-old Buck felt himself "come back."

The acupuncture served as the ideal healing supplement where Western medicine stopped, he said.

"I wasn't getting enjoyment out of what they did for my heart," he said. "Now I really want to take on life and do the things I enjoyed again."